Automated tube technology could cost hundreds of billions of pounds

Transport For London (TfL) says there is “no case” for driverless technology as pressure groups reiterate calls for automated trains ahead of looming tube strikes.

Two 24-hour strikes, over pay and conditions, are planned for next Tuesday and Thursday and could cost up to £250 million of losses arising from lost workdays (according to a calculation by the Centre for Economics and Business Research). 

William Yarwood, campaigns director at the pro-free-market TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the strikes “could not come at a worse time” for businesses.

The opposition Conservative Party has been advocating for autonomous technology for some time.

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RMT members voted to strike over TFL launching a voluntary, compressed four-day work week. Credit: Midnightblueowl

Adam Joiner, a Conservative Party councillor in the London borough of Redbridge, said: “We [Redbridge] do have people who work in the city and rely on the Central Line to get into London to do their jobs.”

Joiner added that driverless trains were “It’s the sort of thing, regardless of strikes, that you [TfL] should be thinking about”.

According to TfL, these calls are impractical. Sean Colfer, a press officer from TFL said: “Platforms haven’t been engineered to support that extra weight.”

Colfer added it is not just the logistics of automation, but also the cost.

“We’re talking billions and billions of pounds, potentially hundreds of billions of pounds… it would be extraordinarily expensive,” he said.

The technology is already being used by Siemens Mobility, the manufacturer of some London Underground trains.

Jennifer Judd, the company’s Senior External Communications Lead said automatic train operations are being used on the central section of the Elizabeth Line which allows for trains to run every two and a half minutes.

Neither TfL nor the government currently have plans to further investigate the widespread use of autonomous trains.

The London Assembly Transport Committee will begin an investigation into autonomous vehicles on 9 June, according to Head of Communications Alison Bell, but trains will not be a part of the discussion.